What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

I love the rhubarb wave goin here. Reminds me I forgot to pull seeds from one I saw today.

I read that the dandelion jelly tastes very much like honey! Thats what made me want to try it.

 

[Sally PB]

Tomorrow, I'll dig up a small start of my neighbor's rhubarb to plant with the two I bought. I hope it doesn't damage her plant. Anyone taken a section from another plant who can tell me how to do it?

There is a small two-stalked bit a couple inches from the main plant. I was going to take that one. Do I dig it up with a trowel? Use a shovel to cut down between it and the main plant?

Ok, just looked it up online. It said to dig up the whole root ball and then divide. Um... not gonna dig up her whole plant. I'm gonna just try to cut it free with the shovel, I guess. Cross my fingers that if anything dies, it's the little bit I'm taking, not her plant.

 

[WthrLady]

A friend got some dried cow manure from a dairy. It was light/fluffy/dry, no identifiable bit, all uniform. I didn’t notice much smell-it smelled lightly like cow manure. He said he’s used it before -straight into the garden and his garden did very well. Has anyone used dried manure before? Just curious bc I’ve never encountered dried cow manure.

We pick up cow pats from the pasture and toss them into the compost pile, but I've never just tossed them on the garden. They're dry and fluffy in the spring.

 

[WthrLady]

So I just need the yellow bit of the flower, not the green head beneath, right?

 

[gtaus]

Mind B L O W N....no idea u could do all that!!! It's like a seed tray being watered from the bottom on STEROIDS!!!
Glad it worked out! Way over my head and ability since my bed is done lol!
Thank u for sharing all the info though!!!

I built 3 of those sub-irrigated elevated planters. They work better than any other method of planting I have tried. I have a brown thumb, and find new ways to kill plants. But these sub-irrigated planters work despite me.

Yes, they are a bit more work initially when you build them. Over a short time, they are a lot less maintenance due to the large 15 gallon water reservoir in the bottom. Like I said, a normal rainfall summer for us means I only have to refill the planter maybe 3-4 times during the growing season.

In comparison, my wife plants things in pots with drain holes in the bottom. She has to water her plants maybe 3-4 times per week!

One of the big advantages of this planter that I did not emphasize enough was the "elevated" portion of this planter. I put my planters on legs making the top of the planter waist high. I was thinking of special needs people, like my late brother, who was in a wheelchair. Someone who cannot bend over, or is in a wheelchair, can still garden easily with these planters. Well, that was the idea to make some planters that were handicap accessible. The reservoir makes these planters easier to maintain because all you need to do is refill the reservoir with a garden hose when the water level indicator goes down. Other than that, pretty much everything is on autopilot.

 

[DParker75089]

The veggies (and the weeds) are loving the hot weather we've started experiencing this past week. Now, if I can just keep Bambi from doing too much damage. Nothing was eaten...this time. But I'm betting that subsequent visits won't just be more scouting missions.

 

[Elyrian1]

Wow that's a small deer track.

 

[gtaus]

I finished building my 2 new corrugated galvanized panel raised garden beds today! Yeah!

I used some leftover scrap wood for the frames of the bed, so I did not have to buy any wood. Put all the wood frames together using 2.5 inch pocket hole screws. Screwed the corrugated metal panels into the wood using #10 X 1 inch pole barn screws with 1/4 inch hex heads.

Because I did not have to buy any wood, each of these 4x4 foot beds cost me less than $25.00 (just paid for the corrugated steel panels and screws). I priced out the cheapest pine treated 2X6X8 for an all wooden raised bed, and it would cost me close to $80 for a 4X4 bed. I'm OK with using up my scrap lumber. Someday I might give the wood a paint job, but they will work as is for now.

BTW, I fill up these raised beds with the hügelkultur method. I got a good start on filling one of the beds this afternoon.

I had to cut down a dead tree and there are a lot of branches on the ground from the winter. I hope to use most, if not all, that yard clean up and just dump it into these new beds.

Next week I plan on getting a load of quality black topsoil. I'll mix the topsoil 1;1 with some chicken run compost and top off the raised beds with 6-8 inches of that mix. My chickens are making the compost as we speak....

 

[chickengr]

A friend got some dried cow manure from a dairy. It was light/fluffy/dry, no identifiable bit, all uniform. I didn’t notice much smell-it smelled lightly like cow manure. He said he’s used it before -straight into the garden and his garden did very well. Has anyone used dried manure before? Just curious bc I’ve never encountered dried cow manure.

I did. it is just like fertile black dirt. I sowed directly in it.

 

[gtaus]

A friend got some dried cow manure from a dairy. It was light/fluffy/dry, no identifiable bit, all uniform. I didn’t notice much smell-it smelled lightly like cow manure. He said he’s used it before -straight into the garden and his garden did very well. Has anyone used dried manure before? Just curious bc I’ve never encountered dried cow manure.

There is an excellent YouTube video on growing plants in a number of different media. They claim that dried cow manure is the best method. I've linked the video below, cued up to the conclusion of using cow manure as the best method.